The present invention relates to certain improvements to scroll frames which are employed to stretch and maintain fabric, upon which needlecraft or similar arts are accomplished, in a taut condition and facilitate the convenient scrolling advancement of the fabric as the work progresses.
In the creation of needlecrafted articles and the like, it is necessary that the fabric upon which the work is performed be tautly stretched over a frame, chassis or hoop and be maintained in a taut condition throughout the needlework operation, not only to allow the accurate insertion of the needle and the drawing of the thread or yarn, but to provide an undistorted visual perception of the overall work in progress. While the embroidery hoop with a tightly fitting corresponding encirclement, or the small square or rectangular chassis, upon which the fabric is attached by brads or tacks are adequate for "samplers" or works of small dimension, more ambitious projects such as tapestries led to the development of the scrolling frame.
The current state-of-the-art development of the scroll frame for needlework generally consists of a pair of elongated rigid side rails which have bores adjacent the ends thereof which are sized to closely accommodate the passage of scroll rods of a length somewhat greater than the width of the fabric upon which the needlework is to be performed. These rods generally pass through the bores in the side rails where a clamping action to prevent their rotation is provided by the provision of slots in the side rails, which pass through the center of the diameter of the accommodating bores and extend to the ends of the side rails. Machine screw or the like pass perpendicularly through the slots and are generally provided with wing-nuts which may be tightened to cause the slot to close slightly and cause a reduction in the diameter of the accommodating bore causing a clamping action on the scroll rods thus preventing their rotation within the frame rails. The ends of the fabric work-piece are generally attached to the scroll rods by means of brads, staples or tacks, or by stitching to a fabric portion which is adhesively or otherwise fixedly attached along the length of the scroll rod.
A diligent search of the prior art relating to the attachment of fabric to wooden scrolling or tensioning rollers such as are employed in needlecraft frames failed to reveal that any concerted effort has been devoted to the development of that art while much attention had been given to stretch frames of metallic construction for silk-screen processes. Examples of methods of attachment of screen fabric and also of tensioning the fabric are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,390 to Newman U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,430,814 and 4,430,815 to Wulc; U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,749 to Hamu; U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,909 to Newman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,734 to Messerschmitt and; U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,885 to Dang et al. It will be noted that the preferred method of attachment in each of these disclosures is by insertion of a fabric wrapped spline into a longitudinal slot in the tensioning roller whereupon tension imposed upon the fabric encourages the spline to twist within the slot to cause the fabric to engage the inner surface of the slot thereby inhibiting slippage of the fabric out of the slot so long as tension is maintained. It will also be noted that the means for rotating the rollers to place the fabric under tension is by the application of a suitable wrench to "flats" provided for that purpose on the ends of the rollers, however, no definitive method is disclosed or illustrated for maintaining that set tension. It is obvious however, that it is not intended that fabric be spooled upon these rollers as they are designed to be rotated for only approximately one-half revolution in opposite directions and are exclusively for tensioning purposes. Amaro in U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,742 disclosed a folding adjustable needlecraft frame and Kramer in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,522 disclosed a frame for tensioning and supporting textiles for needlework.